LAS VEGAS—The overwhelming majority of the population reaches for a digital camera (usually a smartphone) for family snapshots and videos. But Hollywood hasn't gotten the memo. Hot on the heels of Quentin Tarantino's Hateful Eight roadshow—which required movie theaters to install huge 70mm projectors that haven't been in vogue since the days of Lawrence of Arabia and Patton—Kodak is hoping that the rest of us will see what happens when you capture your memories with the contrast, grain, and magic that comes only with Tri-X.

Sorry if I'm waxing poetic. I sawTarantino's locked-door mystery western projected the old fashioned way. It made me remember what I missed about going to the movies. The flicker of the film, the sound of the projector, the way the grain dances along the frame, the occasional spot of dust or scratch on the print. That's all gone with digital projection—which has its advantages (it's certainly crisper) and disadvantages (to me, a film print still shows better color and dynamic range). Sure, a digitally projected film is still shown on a huge screen, and the allure of a $10 bucket of popcorn is hard to pass up, but I've got a big TV and a Blu-ray player at home.

Kodak should thank Tarantino's devotion to the medium, but he's not the only A-lister who hasn't embraced Red digital production. J.J. Abrams went back to film for The Force Awakens, Christopher Nolan is a film devotee, and indy darling Jeff Nichols (Mud) is sticking with Kodak stock. The company expects its film division to be profitable in 2016. A few years ago I ordered a few brick of Portra and Ektar for my 35mm cameras, because I was worried I wouldn't be able to get them for much longer—I'm not a great prognosticator.

Still, I don't think anyone was expecting Kodak to make another analog foray into the consumer market. But that's what it's doing with the Super 8, an analog camera with some digital components that it hopes will appeal to aspiring filmmakers and families who want their home movies to look like the opening credits of The Wonder Years.

I got to hold the camera yesterday. It's a mock-up at this point, completely nonfunctional. Its industrial design is decidedly retro. Kodak plans to market two models to start—one in high gloss white plastic, and the other in black—at a price point that's not yet set in stone, but should be around $1,000.

The camera uses C-mount lenses, which are plentiful, and will be bundled with a premium 6mm f/1.2 prime optic by Ricoh. A 6-48mm zoom is also in the works, and if you prefer a true retro look you can scour eBay and used camera stores for vintage C-mount lenses. It takes standard Super 8 film cartridges. Each holds 50 feet of film, which is good for about three and a half minutes of runtime at a standard 24fps or 25fps frame rate—you can shoot for longer if you opt for a 9, 12, or 18fps, all of which are supported by the camera.

The cost of processing film is going to be rolled into the retail price of the cartridge, so you won't be face with a big lab bill after you've run through a few rolls. In addition to the film print (which you can play in the dusty 8mm projector that's up in the attic somewhere), Kodak will provide a 4K scan of the film in a format that can be edited on a computer.

Super 8 film doesn't have a soundtrack, and dropping Joe Cocker's growling rendition of With a Little Help From My Friends over a flickering home movie is too much of a cliche for 2016. The Super 8 has an SD card slot and includes a removable microphone (it plugs in via a standard 3.5mm jack, so you can use a different mic if you want). Audio is recorded to SD, and you can sync it up later in software—you'll have to supply your own clapboard.

Focus and aperture are controlled via the lens. There's no optical viewfinder; instead a mirror splits light to the film and to a digital sensor, which is just there as an electronic viewfinder. The swing-out 3.5-inch LCD is used to frame shots and confirm focus. There are some settings available via camera menus, which are accessed via a jog wheel on the body.

The body is comfortable to hold, either like a camcorder or via the top handle. And Kodak is going to market a pistol grip add-on, which really makes the Super 8 look like an old camera.

About the Author

Senior digital camera analyst for the PCMag consumer electronics reviews team, Jim Fisher is a graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he concentrated on documentary video production. Jim's interest in photography really took off when he borrowed his father's Hasselblad 500C and light meter in 2007. He honed his writing skills at re... See Full Bio

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